The LAN Mob Poke 1.5k

Later on in this post I'll outline a 1.5 kilometer Pokemon Go route starting from LAN Mob that has netted me up to 10k XP and several thousand dust while hatching eggs. The route takes about 30 minutes to complete and is an easy way to grind out the early levels while learning some history. If you're visiting this blog just to see the route details, feel free to skip the next few paragraphs where I talk about the game, its impact on Rome, server issues, upcoming midnight runs & more.It's been amazing seeing downtown come alive over the last week. Tremendous work is done by the city & state park agencies and groups like the Rome Main Streets Alliance to keep the downtown looking beautiful, but it has been an underutilized part of our city. Pokemon Go has changed that by attracting swarms of people to Ft. Stanwix and surrounding landmarks, mixing social gaming, exercise and rich history lessons on the revolutionary war. I've visited other cities and can say Rome has by far one of the best Pokestop routes in terms of walkability and historical value. I'm guilty of not really appreciating just how nice the downtown is, and it's somewhat ironic (but not surprising) that it took a video game for me to finally take notice. I hope others are seeing it as well!The servers have had a rough few days. Just as Niantic was getting a handle on the insane rush of traffic being generated by the game's popularity and massive media exposure, online hacking groups flooded the servers with a denial of service attack throughout the weekend. It's been frustrating for players to spend items like incense and lucky eggs, or encounter a rare Pokemon, only to have the servers go down. This isn't a problem that's going to go away on its own, and I'm sure Niantic is hard at work on a way to better detect and handle DOS attacks. They could learn a lot from companies like Blizzard and Riot who have dealt with the same issue over the past few years. If you're having trouble connecting you can check out this real time outage map to see how widespread the problem is.The effect on our business has been interesting. We are all enjoying the game here (when the servers are up!) as so do many of our customers. We had one of our slowest Saturdays in months this last week and are contributing that to the Poke Craze. Despite this we've seen a lot of non-gamers pick up Pokemon Go, and combined with all the health and social benefits this game is ushering in we're overwhelming supporters of the game. We were lobbying hard to get LAN Mob listed as a Pokestop up until the form disappeared, so hopefully we'll see the blue circle over our store soon! We're also planning some midnight glow stick runs from the shop around the route detailed below - follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the details on those!Ok enough about us - let's talk about leveling!

The LAN Mob Poke 1.5k

The LAN Mob Poke 1.5k

As a systems engineer I'm obsessed with finding efficient ways to solve problems. I'm also often short for time, so this has shaped my Pokemon Go habits somewhat. This route starts at LAN Mob (409 N James St Rome, NY), looping around Fort Stanwix and back, passing anywhere from 20-25 Pokestops and can be done at a leisurely walking pace in around 30 minutes, which syncs up perfectly with in-game items. For the purpose of this walk we're going to skip gyms and focus solely on getting XP, dust, and distance on your eggs. You'll want to make sure your phone is all charged up, wifi is switched off to avoid those pesky server drops, eggs are all incubating, and if you have incense and lucky eggs pop one of each to maximize your trip!

Why level?

Leveling up opens up new items and higher level base Pokemon. I recommend saving your dust while powering up to level 20 before deciding which Pokemon to max out, as you're bound to get higher CP Pokemon through leveling than Pokemon you have invested tens of thousands of dust into. The current XP per level makes it relatively easy to level up to 20, where a "soft cap" makes it increasingly difficult to level beyond this point.

A note on Incense

Incense will spawn a Pokemon every 5 minutes when stationary, as well as every 200 meters while walking. This means if you're mobile while burning incense you should expect a new Pokemon every 2-3 minutes in addition to those you find in the wild. Incense-attracted Pokemon will spawn at your feet and have a small pink circle around them. So to maximize your incense it's important to try to keep moving!

Pokestops everywhere

Memorial Park

This route will take you past 20 Pokestops (counting stops you'll pass twice), and you can reach as many as 25 stops if you wander off the path a bit. These are all historical sites and it's great to take a minute at each to read the plaque as you pass by. Each stop will provide XP, Pokeballs, eggs, revives and other in-game items. A stop can be visited once every 5 minutes, so some stops you'll pass by and be able to grab again on your way back.

Crossing Safely

You'll have to cross three streets each on your way there & back. Just put your phone at your side and ignore any vibrations until you cross. There have been reports of people stopping midway across the street or not even looking up from their phones while they cross resulting in very close accidents. Be aware of oncoming traffic turning from side streets! It'll take just a few seconds of your attention and then you'll be back to Pokehunting from the safety of a sidewalk.

Lures

Occasionally you'll pass a Pokestop sparkling with confetti. This stop has been lured and will attract Pokemon to it. You'll often find the area around Ft. Stanwix visitor center constantly lured, as you can sit on the wooden benches and reach two Pokestops at the same time. This is also a great halfway point to stop and rest. If you pass by a Pokestop that isn't lured and see a bunch of people nearby, consider putting down a lure (tap the white icon above the Pokestop image & select your lure). I try to use at least one lure on my trips, and have lured the entire park on more than one occasion just for fun.

Evolving the downtime

You may hit stretches of path where there are no Pokemon to catch or untapped Pokestops within reach, and if you have your lucky egg running this is a great time to EVOLVE! Small Pokemon like Pidgeys, Rattatas and Weedles can be found in abundance, with lower CP levels being transferred in for candy and higher levels being saved to evolve. Aggressively evolving Pokemon while your lucky eggs are running is a great way to quickly earn some XP.

Victory Drink

Paras prefers Blue

With incense and lucky egg running I've earned in excess of 10k XP and 2500 dust from a single 30-minute trip, and this route helped me quickly hit the level 20 soft cap in around 11 days of casual play on unstable servers. By the end of the walk your battery will no doubt be suffering. Stop by the shop, plug in to charge, have a cold drink and tell us what you caught. You'll be recharged and ready to go back out again in no time.